


Piece of Cake

by ellacj



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, literally this is all fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-22
Updated: 2014-08-22
Packaged: 2018-02-14 05:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2179659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellacj/pseuds/ellacj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina always bakes when she's nervous.</p><p>Pure, unadulterated, 100%, tooth-rotting fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Piece of Cake

Regina bites her lip. She’s going to meet her son today. The adoption agency asked her to come in and sign the papers today and he’s going to be there for her to take home. Her baby.

She rolls out the dough on the counter, kneading it between her fingers maybe a bit too aggressively.

_What if he doesn’t like me?_

She lays the pieces of dough on the baking sheet an equal distance apart and shoves them into the oven.

_What if there’s a problem with the adoption?_

Setting the timer, Regina wipes her hands on her apron and sheds the article of clothing in lieu of a blue knit sweater.

_What if another family gets him instead?_

The timer goes off about ten minutes later. Regina takes the cookies out of the oven and transfers them to a cooling rack.

_What if I’m a terrible mother?_

She bites into a cookie, savoring the warm, rich chocolate chips just barely melted in the peanut butter cookie. She sighs. Her heart pounds against her chest as she waits for 12:00 to come.

Regina always bakes when she’s nervous.

* * *

 Regina got out the flour and sugar as soon as Graham began organizing the search party for Henry.

She’s on her third batch of cupcakes when she hears the loud clanging of metal outside.

 _Henry_.

Dropping the wooden spoon she’s holding, Regina tears off her apron and runs outside. Henry pushes past her, but not before revealing that the woman standing before her is his birth mother.

After sending Emma Swan on her way, Regina brings Henry a plate with three cupcakes on it; one vanilla, one chocolate, and one marble. His favorites.

Regina always bakes when she’s scared.

* * *

  _Sent at 4:47am_.

Regina’s breath shortens when she reads those words. She hadn’t meant to send the message.

 _Emma, I need to tell you something_.

Shit. What has she done? She pulls out the ingredients she needs, throwing them together in a bowl and mixing furiously until it reaches a rich chocolate color.

_I’ve been avoiding telling you this for a while now._

Regina greases a circular pan and pours the batter into it. Then she realizes she forgot to preheat the oven. “Fuck.” She hurries over and sets it to 375°.

_I won’t tell you how long._

“Mom?” Henry asks, rubbing his eyes as he comes downstairs. “It’s five in the morning.” Then he sees her baking. “Oh god, what’s wrong?”

_I seem to have developed feelings for you._

Regina doesn’t hear her phone chime as she mixes another bowl of batter, this time a red velvet. “What makes you think something is wrong, dear?”

_I understand if my feelings aren’t reciprocated._

“It’s five in the morning and you’re baking. You always bake when you’re nervous.” Regina stops her movement at Henry’s words. He knows her too well.

_I just wanted you to know._

Regina pulls the chocolate cake out of the oven and slides the pan filled with red batter into it. After transferring the chocolate cake to a cooling rack, she cleans out the pan and begins mixing a bowl of vanilla batter.

_If by some miracle you feel the same, I’d love to take you on a date._

Henry comes to stand beside Regina and silently begins the process of making the chocolate frosting for the first cake. He looks up at her. “Did you tell Emma?”

_Of course, if you don’t, you shouldn’t feel pressured to allow me to do so._

Regina looks over at him with her eyebrows knitted together over her eyes. Damn him for knowing her so well. Her expression says everything her words don’t as she switches out the cake in the oven for the one she’s just mixed.

_I know it’s early, and I’m sorry for not waiting until a reasonable hour._

After frosting all three cakes together, Regina sends Henry off to school, leaving her at home alone. She can miss a day of work. She won’t be getting anything done in this state of mind anyway.

_I tried to tell you, before, at the diner after you returned from the hat._

Regina’s hands won’t stay still. She only lasts half an hour before she throws her apron back on and pouring enough ingredients for a pie crust into a bowl.

_I’m sorry I couldn’t do it then._

She spreads the pie crust into a tin and fills it with her famous apple pie filling. After sending the pie into the oven, Regina jumps immediately into a lemon tart recipe.

_I’m sorry I texted you rather than tell you in person._

Regina bakes all day, including two grocery runs for more ingredients, and still her phone doesn’t chime with a response. When her doorbell finally rings, her counters are covered in baked desserts and there’s a few on the tables in the study. She removes her apron and goes to the door.

_I don’t expect you to reciprocate my feelings, of course._

“Hey,” Emma says quietly.

Regina swallows hard. “Emma.”

_I just wanted you to know._

“I, um, I got your text.”

“You did.”

Emma twists her lip. “Can I come in?”

“Of course.” Regina steps aside to let Emma inside, and the blonde glances around with a low whistle.

“What’s with all the calories?”

Regina’s face flushes. “I bake when I get nervous.” The oven beeps, announcing the fourth apple pie she’s baked today. Emma follows her to the kitchen.

“Didn’t you get my text? I’ve kind of been waiting for you to text back…”

Regina sets the hot pie tin on a cloth on the coffee table in the study and removes her oven mitts. “You replied?” She mentally kicks herself. “I didn’t hear my phone go off.”

Emma shifts her weight from foot to foot. “You should probably check that.”

Regina goes into the kitchen and wakes her phone, and sure enough, it reads _1 new message_. When she opens it, it says that it was received at 5:34 that morning. It says only four words, but it’s those four words that make her heart race and cause a wide grin to spread across her face.

_I like you too._

“So,” Emma says.

Regina smiles at her. “So.”

“You were gonna take me on a date, right?”

“I suppose that can be arranged.”

“So… what now?”

Regina glances around the kitchen. “Would you like a piece of cake?”


End file.
